Outside the Church, Kimpton

8x10" acrylic on canvas board, $65. Available here

I thought I'd uploaded this already but apparently not, so here it is! For the past two years, I've exhibited work at the Kimpton Art Show. Kimpton itself is a very nice town, with lots of lovely architecture and greenery, and little back lanes which twist and turn behind the houses. This is the lane which leads up to the church - the bunting seen here is the typical store-bought stuff, but further up there is hand-knitted bunting, which I've not seen before! I thought it was quite a nice touch. I wish I'd taken more photos of the town; maybe next year!

Piglet

6x8" oil on canvas board. $45. Available here

Just up the road from our house is a farm. A while back, I went along to do some sketches of the animals for a college project. I took some photos as well, and this is painted from my favourite one; the piglets were absolutely adorable! Noisy, but cute. This was a really enjoyable painting to do, quite a change of subject matter for me, I learned a lot. Maybe I'll go along again this spring and take some more photos to paint from in future!

Golden Sunset

6x6" acrylic on canvas board. On sale, $22! Available here

A sunset study for the weekly challenge- this is one of the trickier ones I've had to do, capturing the soft pinks and yellows proved much more complex than I expected! I usually do more dramatic, contrast-y sunsets and this was very gentle in comparison.

Wonky Marrow II

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. On sale, $22! Available here

Wonky marrow study for the Different Light challenge. I did Daylight, then moved to a different part of the house to play with stronger lighting.

I had to improvise a bit here, as I only have one light and it's very specific about the bulbs it'll take. I stuck two rulers to the side of my desk, suspended a sheet of orange coloured paper between them, and shone my spotlight through it so that the paper acted as a filter. It was like working in a darkroom under red light as I was painting, which I found strangely calming, I quite enjoyed it. I'm happy with the result too! I've added a comparison to III so you can see the different lights in action.

Feeling Crabby?

5x7" acrylic on canvas. On Sale, $22! Available here

Here's a fun little painting! We bought this whole Cromer crab for dinner one night, and I snapped a bunch of photos before we ate it. The shapes and colours are fascinating- in fact, I kept the shell to sketch from. I wanted to try and give this guy a little personality and I hope I've succeeded!

Watching Over The Garden

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here 

 My uncle's garden is pretty amazing- full of statues and carvings he's created over the years, watching you from unexpected places. I couldn't resist taking some photos of a few spots and painting them. I really love the way the pale shells in the flowerbed are catching the light here!

The Lunch Date

15x21cm (A5) Acrylic on watercolour paper. $45. Available here

Another for the "People Eating" challenge- my trips to London provide plenty of reference! Here's a couple sitting outside of a cafe, enjoying lunch in the sun. I fought with this piece a lot- it felt like there were a lot of elements to pull together, and I was quite surprised to finish it, let alone be satisfied with it. I'm really enjoying this foray into figurative work, a largely unexplored genre for me- I feel quite excited to get stuck into it and see where it leads me...

Spring Sun Study

 8x10" oil on canvas board. $65. Available here

A study of the tree in our back garden on a particularly sunny day- the tree looked almost black against the bright light, and the colours were all so vibrant. I wasn't happy with this when I first completed it, so it's had a few touch-ups since, and I think it's finally pulled together.

Cherry Trees, The Wynd

8x10" acrylic on canvas board. $65. Available here

 Another painting of the cherry trees in The Wynd, looking the opposite way from yesterday's work. I'm really grateful to the person who left their bicycle in this spot! It helps capture something of the relaxed atmosphere of this street, I think- away from the traffic and bustle of the centre of town. A nice place to sit and enjoy the beautiful weather!

The Wynd in April

7x5" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

Another painting for the Exaggerate challenge. The cherry trees in town are blossoming spectacularly at the moment, and I've been having a great time painting them. I had fun with the colours on the street, pushing the warm/cool contrast between the light and shadow areas.

Watermelon Slice

5x7" oil on canvas board, $40. Available here

I found this chunk of watermelon in the fridge, just the perfect shape for painting! I love the strong colours as well.

Safe In Here

7x5" acrylic on canvas. $40. Available here

Here's another painting featuring one of my new plates; this time, the lemon is taking refuge from the tomato gang. I really enjoy the colours in this one, and the vertical composition.

Anatomy of a Dragon(fruit)

6x8" acrylic on canvas board. $45. Available here

An arrangement of dragonfruit and pomegranate, cut open to show their interesting insides. I really like how the black and white patterned fabric works with the spotted dragonfruit, and the strong pinks and reds.

Pomegranates

5x7" acrylic on canvas board. $40. Available here

A little study of pomegranates, one of my favourite things to paint- I love the strong colours and the interesting texture of the insides.

Shades of Pink

4x5" oil on canvas board. $30. Available here

I've been feeling a little burned out with my daily paintings recently- they just aren't coming out the way I want them to. So I've been taking a break to focus on other stuff. In the meantime, here's an older still life I never posted.

Hopefully I'll get back into the flow soon and have some new landscapes to post!

Flocking Birds at Sundown

5x7" oil on canvas board. $40. Available here

This little study is inspired by my weekend in Yorkshire... ​I was taking an evening walk around the field we parked our cars in, and looked up to see this view- what seemed like hundreds of birds swooping low over the treetops, contrasting with the pale pink light.

Bright Sunset

5x7" oil on canvas board. SOLD

Here's a sunset study. The colours were warm and vibrant and the light was incredible; I did my best to capture it here. I used a real-bristle brush for a lot of this rather than my usual synthetic brushes, and it has given the painting a bit more texture.

Beauty Routines

6x6" oil on canvas board. $40. Available here

My eyes sting and water terribly if I put anything near them, so I never use makeup. Still, I try it out every year or so, just to see if anything's changed. So I have all this stuff sitting around, hardly ever used. It makes a pretty interesting subject to paint.

Cowslip Hill From The Meadow

4x5" oil on canvas board. $30. Available here

Here's a little local scene I painted, looking up from a meadow towards a road. I really like how the soft, gentle colours of the trees and grass look against the solid form of the house.

Soft Colours and Long Shadows

4x5" acrylic on canvas board. $30. Available here

Here's another little still life with lemon slices, this one with a much gentler palette.